Television receivers, such as satellite decoders, receive encrypted audio/video content from a service provider and process the content for output to an associated presentation device. Typically, some operations associated with decryption of content are performed by a smart card associated with the television receiver. Smart cards manufactured in conformity with the ISO 7816 standard have eight contact pins, which limits the amount of data that can be exchanged with the television receiver. For applications in which the smart card exchanges only keys with the conditional access system, eight contact pins may be sufficient for the data rate exchanged therebetween. However, if the smart card performs decryption of content, e.g., decrypts an audio/video a transport stream, then standard ISO 7816 smart cards are inadequate for the amount of data to be exchanged with the host device.